Pride: You’re obviously very accomplished in wrestling. What would you say are you biggest strengths that you bring into MMA?

Sherk: Obviously, like you said, wrestling. Also speed, endurance, explosion and aggressiveness.

Pride: How excited are you about fighting in PRIDE?

Sherk: This is a dream come true. I watch all the shows. I’m a big fan of the sport. This is where it’s at, right here. Back to your first question, I’ve got a lot of attributes that people haven’t seen, like striking. I’ve done Muay Thai for about 10 years. I’ve been doing jiu-jitsu for about 10 years.

Pride: You’re highest profile fight was against Matt Hughes. You lost by decision but were you happy with the fight?

Sherk: No. I train to win. I’m not going out just to lose by decision. I wanted to win that world title. I was disappointed that I lost.

Pride: Do you know much about your opponent?

Sherk: I don’t know a whole lot about him at all.

Pride: He’s U-File with Kiyoshi Tamura.

Sherk: I know he’s somewhat of a wrestler, too.

Pride: What are your goals for 2004?

Sherk: Become a champion, of course. As far as goals go, my goal is to come out on Sunday and make a lot of fans. Maybe get a 2 or 3 fight deal and come back to Japan. I’d like to fight Sakurai, Newton, any of those big name fighters. If PRIDE BUSHIDO does have a Welterweight World Title, that would be something I would shoot for.

Pride: How do you spend you free time?

Sherk: Normally, I train 3 or 4 times a day, 6 days a week. The only off-time I have is on Sunday and I usually don’t get off the couch. I’m 30 so I just sleep and eat.

Pride: Married?

Sherk: I just got married 2 weeks ago.

Pride: So, you have to make some money this year?

Sherk: Yeah.

Pride: What’s your wife’s name?

Sherk: Heather.

Pride: How much money do you want to make?

Sherk: I’d like to make 100 grand a year. That’s been my goal for the last couple of years. I guess at my weight class, it’s kind of tough. I don’t know if there are too many guys out there making that kind of money. I want to fight as much as I can. If I have to fight 10 times, I will. I’ll fight every month. It’s no big deal. I’m at the gym pretty much 10-12 hours a day. Monday thru Saturday.

Pride: How is the support in Minnesota?

Sherk: It’s relatively small. Some show but they are mostly amateur shows where a couple hundred people show up. I fight in Minnesota periodically, as well. I’ve got a real good fan base out there. If I fight, I usually draw about a 1,000, which is good for a small show.